Eye actuating device for a doll



United States Patent EYE ACTUATING DEVICE FOR A DOLL Jurden Wooten, Jr., La Grange, N.C. Application August 7, 1956, Serial No. 602,670

Claims. (Cl. 46-169) This invention relates to a novel eye actuating device for the eyes of a doll, and more particularly to an attachment of extremely simple construction for use with a conventional doll head having weighted eyes which assume simulated open positions when the doll head is in an upright position and simulated closed positions when the head is disposed horizontal and facing upwardly.

More particularly, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a blinking attachment adapted to function with the conventional weight means of simulated doll eyes for causing a blinking of the eyes by movement of the doll while held in a substantially upright or a seated position and with the head of the doll substantially upright.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawing, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, and wherein:

Figure l is a vertical sectional view of a doll head shown equipped with the eye actuating device, taken substantially along the line 11 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view, taken at a right angle to Figure l, substantially along the line 2-2 of Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view partly in elevation and partly in section of a portion of the eye actuating device.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, a conventional doll head 5 is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 comprising a hollow rigid shell, a portion of which is suitably shaped and marked externally to simulate a doll face 6. The portion 6 is provided with laterally spaced openings 7, formed in recessed portions of the face 6 and simulating eye sockets. A bearing member 8 is secured to the inner side of the face portion 6 between the openings or eye sockets 7 to provide a journal for a shaft 9 which extends therethrough. Small balls or spheres 10 are secured immovably to the ends of the shaft 9 and are disposed beyond and adjacent the ends of the bearing 8. Weights 11 are secured to and project rearwardly from portions of the spheres 10 and normally assume positions beneath said spheres, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, when the head 5 is in an upright or substantially upright position. Corresponding portions of the spheres 10 are suitably marked to simulate eyeballs 12 which are disposed immediately behind the openings or simulated eye sockets 7, when the head 5 is in an upright position and the weights 11 are disposed beneath the spheres 10. Elements 13, simulating eyelashes, are fixed to and project outwardly from portions of the spheres 10 and are disposed immediately above the simulated eyeballs 12. The parts previously described are conventional and represent a conventional doll head construction whereby when the head is disposed in a horizontal position with the face portion 6 uppermost, the weights 11 will cause the eyeballs 12 and simulated eyelashes 13 to swing downwardly relative to the openings or simulated eye sockets 7 for simulating a closed position of the eyes and with the portions of the spheres 10, located 2,889,661 Patented June 9,1959

above the simulated eyelashes 13, constituting simulated eyelids.

The eye actuating device or blinking attachment, designated generally 14 and comprising the invention, includes a rigid disc 15 which is immovably secured to the neck portion 16 of the doll head 5. An elongated rigid member 17 has a tapered end 18 which is threaded to form a wood screw which is anchored in the disc 15, and an opposite end forming a stem 19 which projects upwardly from the disc 15 and which is anchored in one end of a closely coiled elongated spring 20, The spring 20 is preferably formed of steel and has an opposite upper end which is anchored in a downwardly opening socket 21 of a lead weight 22. The lead weight 22 is thus supported on the upper end of the spring 20. The lead weight 22 is preferably enclosed in a casing 23 of soft rubber. The parts 17, 20, 22 and 23 form a resilient standard, designated generally 24, which is disposed in substantially an upright position within the hollow head 5 and nearly centrally with respect to said head and the spheres 10 and weights 11. The upper end of the resilient standard 24 terminates substantially below the top of the head 5, as seen in Figure 1.

A guide eye 25 is anchored to a portion of the head 5 and is disposed internally thereof, above and preferably midway between the spheres 10. A flexible nonelastic strand 26, such as a length of nylon cord, has an intermediate portion extending slidably through the guide eye 25. One end of the strand 26 extends downwardly from the guide eye 25 and is attached to an eye or loop 27 and which projects rearwardly from one of the weights 11. The other end of the strand 26 extends rearwardly from the guide 25 and is anchored to an eye 28 which is secured in an upper part of the weight 22 and which projects outwardly therefrom through an opening 29 of the covering 23.

Any relative sudden movement of the doll head 5, while disposed in substantially an upright position, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, will cause the standard 24 to vibrate or swing for exerting intermittent pulls on the end of the flexible element 26 connected to the eye 28, and so that an upward pull will be exerted by said flexible element 26 on the eye 27 and the weight 11 to which said eye is attached, to cause the simulated eyes 12, 13 to swing downwardly to simulated closed positions. The weights 11 return the simulated eyes to open positions as the upper end of the standard 24 swings back nearer the guide eye 25, so that a simulated blinking of the eyes will thus be produced. This result will be realized irrespective of the direction toward which the upper end of the standard 24 is caused to swing by movement of the head 5, since should the upper end of the standard 24 initially swing toward the face 6, in rebounding under the biasing action of the spring 20 the weight 22 will swing past its normal position of Figure 1 and sufficiently toward the back of the head 5 so that a pull will be exerted on the flexible element 26 by the standard 24.

As seen in Figure l, a certain amount of slack exists in the flexible element 26 when the standard 24 is in its normal upright position so that slight movements of the doll head 5 will not cause the upper end of the standard 24 to move sufliciently to exert a pull on the flexible element 26. The casing 23 is provided to prevent damage to the head 5 should the doll be moved with suflicient suddenness or struck against an object with suflicient violence to cause the upper end of the standard to strike a part of the head.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resorted to, without departing from the function or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a hollow doll head having eye sockets and a solid neck portion, a pair of simulated eyes, means mounting said eyes for up and down oscillating movement in the head and behind the eye sockets, and a weight secured to and disposed beneath the eyes for normally holding the eyes in a simulated open position when the head is disposed upright and in a simulated closed position when the head is disposed horizontal facing upwardly; an eye blinking attachment comprising a guide element fixed to and disposed within the doll head above the eyes, a non-elastic flexible element having an intermediate portion extending slidably through the guide element and having one end connected to said weight, a resilient standard fixed to said neck portion and extending upwardly into the hollow head and having an upper free end disposed behind and spaced from the eyes and to which the opposite end of the flexible element is secured, said upper end of the standard being swingable within the hollow head in response to movement of the head, while in substantially an upright position, to exert an upward pull on the weight through the flexible element for moving the eyes to a closed position, said weight returning the eyes to an open position and cooperating with the attachment to produce a simulated blinking of the eyes when the head is moved.

2. In an attachment for a doll head as in claim 1, said flexible element being of a length to provide a limited amount of slack therein when the standard is disposed in a position of equilibrium to prevent the eyes from being actuated by a slight swinging movement of the upper end of the standard.

3. In an attachment for a doll head as claim 1, said standard including a coiled spring extending upwardly from the neck portion.

4. In an attachment for a doll head as in claim 1, said standard comprising a fastening element imbedded in said neck portion, a coiled spring having one end secured to the fastening element and extending upwardly from (the neck, and a weight secured to and extending from the 15 ,Iupward end of the coiled spring and constituting said upper free end of the standard.

5. In an attachment for a doll head as in claim 4, and a bumperof soft rubber enclosing said last mentioned weight.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,325,986 Garami et a1. Dec. 23, 1919 1,606,716 Munyard Nov. 9, 1926 2,686,388 Seidl Aug. 17, 1954 2,733,546 Ruiz Feb. 7, 1956 

